Insights from Developing as a Leader with Ed Poulton, Managing Partner at Baker McKenzie

The Black Lawyers Matter podcast brings you invaluable pieces of career wisdom from esteemed leaders and inspiring figures within the legal profession. The podcast is brought to you by the Stephen James partnership and Black Lawyers Matter, and is designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge, and acumen necessary to thrive within the legal landscape.

In this article, taken from the latest episode of the podcast, host Samuel Clague gue speaks to Edward Poulton , Managing Partner and Chair of the Global International Arbitration Steering Committee at international law firm 贝克?麦坚时 . Read on as we delve into the insights shared in the podcast and highlight key takeaways from the interview…

A professional sportsman, a human rights lawyer, and an arbitration lawyer: three reasonably different career paths. What led you to pursue a career in international arbitration?

Rugby was the main sport at which I'd have liked to be a professional, but there was no way I was ever going to make it. So, it came down to human rights law, and international commercial law instead. I went into law with a real interest in human rights law, but at University discovered quite quickly that I was more interested and better at the more technical, aspects of law, and so I focused on that.

I had a very international upbringing. I'm partly French, I was born in France and educated in the French school system until I was 18. As part of my degree, I did law and French law to make the most of those opportunities. I spent the bulk of my childhood from the age of five until the age of 16, living in West Africa, mainly in Mali, but also in the Gambia. And so that international aspect to my life meant that I was always attracted to working in a multicultural, multinational organisation, but also doing work which enabled me to work with people across borders, across cultures.

What are some of the challenges you faced in your development as a senior associate?

A career is a constant evolution and at every stage of my career, there have been challenges. Some of them have been very similar to one another, because when you start as a trainee, you're the newest kid on the block. When you qualify as an associate, you're, again, the newest kid on the block. When you become a partner, you're the newest kid on the block.

In terms of my associate career, probably one of the biggest challenges that I faced was when I went on what we call the associate training programme, which is a secondment programme to our Sydney office for a year. And I found there that I went from being a relatively well-known quantity, quite well embedded, trusted, having earned a certain degree of trust from the partners in the team in which I work the disputes team in London, to once again being a completely new boy on the block.

However, I had to start not from a completely standing start, because the fact that the London office had seen fit to send me to the other side of the world for secondment suggested that they had some trust in my capabilities, and were making an investment in my future. Despite this, you’re having to prove yourself all over again as an associate but in a different context, both in terms of the office and the legal system. I think that was a real wake-up call for me to realise that you can never afford to get too comfortable, and should always be seeking out new and exciting challenges, because that's how you develop and improve.

What's been the highlight of your career as a leader?

As a leader, there are two very different highlights for me. One has to be being elected as Managing Partner at the London office, the office where I trained as an associate, and then a partner. It's such an honour to be elected into that post by my fellow partners, their showing their trust in me to lead the office was a huge highlight.

The other part is the excitement, the pride that you get in seeing someone who you had some influence and impact on their development - it could be big, but it could be very small. Seeing people who I knew as trainees, I knew as associates, coming through and becoming partners and or going into amazing in-house roles and developing to be the best lawyer, the best version of themselves they can be, I feel I have a little stake in that pride. It could come from mentorship, sponsorship, coaching, whatever it may be, but, ultimately it is really fulfilling.

If you're interested in learning more about Ed Poulton's journey as a lawyer and leader in international arbitration, be sure to listen to the latest episode of the Black Lawyers Matter podcast. It's an inspiring conversation full of insights and lessons learned that any aspiring lawyer can benefit from!

Listen here: https://link.chtbl.com/aOhcTrMm